I have had my plate flowers, made with the GE silicone II, outside for months and they are fine. I am in Fl. tho'. I have made them with PVC and the washer, copper elbow and the male part of a grommet thing.. I bought some bell hangers though and am getting ready to use those. They seem so simple and only one piece to buy and work with. I always use copper pipes in the ground.

Good luck. They're lots of fun and addicting.

Sue

Welcome Maggie!! Plate flowers are like totems....VERY addicting!! I'm in VA and I decided to take my plate flowers inside for the winter, but they are holding up very well in the heat, rain, etc. I have used both the silicone method and drilling the glass method to make mine and both have worked equally well. Like Sue said above, you can use the plumbing elbows on the back or you can fashion a hook for the back as well (not as pretty a job though). The hook holds up well too.

Good luck and post those pics!!

I drilled mine and attached with copper pipes/solder. So far they are holding up fine but they have only been outside for a couple months! I think I taking them inside during the winter is a good idea. Mainly because something could fall from a tree or whatever and break them.
They are soooooooo addicting and everyone loves them.

Mine have held up fine in Zone 4b, 20 below zero in the winter. No problem! The one thing that did happen is that one fell over and broke last fall. So now I drive a 1 foot or so piece of rebar half way in the ground and pound my pipe in over that. None have fallen over since. They look really cool with the snow on them. Make sure that you get GE Silicone II for Windows and Doors, Clear. Theres a lot of GE IIs. And once I bought brown by mistake instead of clear.
kathy

What is a plate flower? I really don't want to know....especially if they are as addicting as totems, would someone post pics or send to me? I have a bunch of plates...LOL I love flowers!!!!

Thank you everyone for the quick responses. Glad to hear yours are all holding up well. Never thought about leaving them out in the winter-- but I bet they do look pretty in the snow! They are really fun- I've found some great plates and prices at local thrift stores-- and some really cute summerware plates in the stores! I will surely try to share some pics if I can remember how to post pictures. ncshabbybeach-- you definitely want to look into plate flowers-- just read every post re:plate flowers-- you'll learn all about them and see some great pictures! Thanks again, guys!

Aren't plateflowers in purplemoon's album of Garden Junk? I think so, I just don't know how to bring it up! Jan

The plate flowers are on both pages of the Glass Creations album. Quite a few different examples.

hugs, Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: GJ Glass Creations

I have made a lot of these and they are always oohed & ahhed over. I live in Iowa so I take mine inside in the winter, and use a rebar so they don't tip over and break in the garden. I also drill holes in mine and the only problem is if you get the screw too tight, you can break the plate. Here are a couple of pictures upclose so you can see how it is done.

becky
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Becky those are sooo cute...What kind of wire is that, and is that the real color of it...It's really neat...

Maggie, the plate flowers will be so nice for your family reunion.

Becky, those are fantastic. I spent some time yesterday looking at the lovely flowers in Karen's album and today I planned some so they are ready to glue. Will now need more glass as used what I was planning for totems. There's really no end to this, is there! LOL

I have been trying to drill through glass plates using glass/tile drill bits and am having a hard time getting through the plate. I have gone through 4 glass/tile drill bits. What am I doing wrong?

Love the flowers and the leaves. I'm with Leveta, what kind of wire is that? They are really neat.

Sue